Richard Bacon out of medically-induced coma

The TV presenter has been in hospital after falling ill during a plane journey eight days ago, and was put into the coma after failing to respond to treatment for suspected pneumonia.

However, his mum Christine has confirmed that he has now "opened his eyes", and while he is not yet fully responding, he is "getting better".

She told the Mansfield Chad: "There's a long way to go yet, but this is a very positive step and it has eased my mind."

Christine also thanked Richard's fans on Twitter for their messages of support as he continues to recover.

Last week, Richard shared a photo of a hospital A&E department sign, before later posting a photo of himself attached to various wires explaining that he'd fallen ill.

"I'm A&E (in Lewisham) on the NHS's 70th birthday. I don't like to miss a party," he wrote last week.

His second update followed an hour later, as he praised the NHS and compared the British healthcare system to America's own.

"Thank God I got ill in Britain (actually on the way to Britain, was taken off the plane in a wheelchair)," he added. "F**k all the ideology driven politicians who've messed up America's healthcare system. Viva the NHS. Happy 70th."

Bacon served as a presenter on Blue Peter for 18 months between 1997 and 1998 and since then he has had roles on shows like Top of the Pops, The Big Breakfast and The Big Painting Challenge, as well as hosting radio programmes.

He's also been fronting a huge new talk show called Explorer on National Geographic – which is filmed in New York and broadcast to 170 countries – and most recently began hosting a daily news show called The 30 which is broadcast nationally across America.